Am I the Only One Who Finds it Ironic that a Guy From a Show Called "Growing Pains" is Railing Against the Theory of Evolution?

Nearly a century and a half after the publication of Charles Darwin’s ‘The Origin of Species’, the debate over evolution goes on with no end in sight.

Now former Growing Pains star turned ubber evangelical Christian Kirk Cameron is promoting an effort to give away free copies of the book, but with a 50 page introduction that lays out the creationist theory, as well as allegations that Hitler liked Darwin, Darwin was racist, and hated women. Now the video of one Romanian woman is making the rounds as she rebuts Cameron’s claims that American is under assault by atheists.

H/T: Suburban Guerrilla

What caused Mozart’s death and where did he die?

Lovers of a great murder mystery will be disappointed because the legendary composer was not poisoned or murdered. The answer according to a new study is an epidemic of strep throat that at the time had broken out in Vienna. Dun Dun Dun Dun!!!! Yeah I know I bet you saw that last line coming.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The death of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 35 may have been caused by complications stemming from strep throat, according to a Dutch study published on Monday. Since the composer’s death in 1791, there have been various theories about the cause of his untimely end, from intentional poisoning, to rheumatic fever, to trichinosis, a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork.

On his death certificate it was officially recorded that the cause of death was hitziges Frieselfieber, or “heated miliary fever,” referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds.

But researchers from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands said studies on his death have generally been based on less-than-reliable evidence, like accounts from people who witnessed Mozart’s final days, written decades after his death.

Their new study, reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was based on information from official death registers for Vienna in the winter of 1791 that places Mozart’s death in a wider context. He died in Vienna.

“Our findings suggest that Mozart fell victim to an epidemic of strep throat infection that was contracted by many Viennese people in Mozart’s month of death, and that Mozart was one of several persons in that epidemic that developed a deadly kidney complication,” researcher Richard Zegers, of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, told Reuters Health.

The War on Centuer’s, Mermnaids, and other Fantasy Creatures

Well that is what the Huffington Post reports via Senator Sam Brownback’s own blog. Ardent pro-lifer Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) wants to ban scientists from being able to create human animal hybrid species. Brownback is set to retire from the Senate in 2010 and run for governor of Kansas, and obviously now wants part of his national political legacy to be killing any possibility of centaurs and Arielle the Little Mermaid becoming a reality. Given Senator Brownback’s intense “pro-family agenda” one would think he would want to encourage the good natured wholesome family fun that is a Disney movie in becoming a reality (maybe a tax credit for owning a blue genie or an elephant that can fly. Or how about one for guys who dress in strange costumes in the middle of the night and take children off to a …. oh wait, I was referring to Peter Pan not Michael Jackson).

Between this and Congresswoman Michelle Bachman (R- her own state of mind), seeking years back to ban the movie Aladdin in local Minnesota schools; one has to wonder what acid these lawmakers have been trippin on. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is also a co-sponsor. The legislation now has 20 co-sponsors, but hey with the economy having recovered, us being out of Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea disarmed, global climate change halted, health care legislation passed, and the budget deficit under control; I guess we now have time for more pressing concerns such as this! That’s what we pay lawmakers for, and get those the Seven little bearded guys while you are at it.

Its Not Easy Being Green….and Yellow and Gray, and White

Proof that I guess it takes all kinds.

A FROG that constantly changes colour is being worshipped as a GOD in India.

Hundreds of curious followers flock to Reji Kumar’s home every day to pray and ask for miracles.

Now one of the country’s top zoologists plans to study the rainbow frog. But Reji, 35, who keeps the creature in a glass bottle after finding it while out watering plants, is afraid it might CROAK first.

He said: “My one problem is that this frog does not appear to eat. I keep trying to feed it but it doesn’t eat anything. I don’t know what else to give it.”

Maybe its on a hunger strike? A political prisoner?

Ladies, Maybe a Fat Ass is a Good Thing

So for a change women with a little “junk in the trunk” to use the parlance of our times can laugh at those other women with the thin voluptuous bodies and rotund bottoms. One has to wonder if this is science, or a reason for people to take pride in their big asses.

Courier Mail:

Buttock and hip fat may protect women against type 2 diabetes, from which more than 1.7 million Australians now suffer, researchers from the Harvard Medical School found.

When buttocks and hip fat from mice was injected into other mice, their bodies easily used the blood sugar-regulating hormone insulin and lost weight.

They were also able to make better use of insulin, the main hormone linked to diabetes.

It has long been known by scientists that types of fat can affect a person’s health.

People with the apple shape, where fat is stored around the tummy, can be more prone to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Those with pear-shaped bodies, where fat is collected in the buttocks, are less likely to have these disorders.

Come on Baby Light My Fire

Well according to a new study, humans had the ability to make fire as early as 790,000 years ago. In turn fire allowed humans gathered in Africa (where civilization began) to move northwards from Africa to Europe, thereby altering the migration patterns of human history, and fire made much of that possible.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A new study shows that humans had the ability to make fire nearly 790,000 years ago, a skill that helped them migrate from Africa to Europe.

By analysing flints at an archaeological site on the bank of the river Jordan, researchers at Israel’s Hebrew University discovered that early civilizations had learned to light fires, a turning point that allowed them to venture into unknown lands.

A previous study of the site published in 2004 showed that man had been able to control fire — for example transferring it by means of burning branches — in that early time period. But researchers now say that ancient man could actually start fire, rather than relying on natural phenomena such as lightning. More>>>

No More Bets on Alien’s Landing

Sometimes I have wondered what has ever happened to that “intelligent life” people are always talking about here on earth.

Daily Record:

WORRIED bookmakers have stopped taking bets on aliens showing up on Earth.

It follows a flurry of bets amid internet buzz that a massive intergalactic spaceship will appear tomorrow.

Videos and messages on YouTube, blogs and UFO websites are buzzing with predictions that a vessel from the alien Federation Of Light will be visible in our skies for three days.

It may all sound more oddball than odds-on – but bookies William Hill are taking it seriously enough to temporarily suspend betting on proof of the existence of intelligent alien life being confirmed by PM Gordon Brown.

It follows a rush of bets, including one punter who wanted to place a s3000 bet at odds of 1000-1.

Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “This is the first time an internet phenomenon has affected our business.
Read more >>>

Autumnal Equinox

Today marks the first official day of Autumn, better known as the Autumnal equinox. It is the day when daylight hours will begin to wane, as the festivals of summer turn into what I think of as the vivid wake of Autumn. It will no doubt be beautiful as it is every year in new England, especially here in the Pioneer valley and all over western mass, as trees cloak themselves in the red, orange, and yellow fires of foliage, and slowly perform nature’s gradual tri month striptease of these garments to reveal their hunched and sturdy limbs of great timber.

Personally I find it a little depressing, as the skies often become more and more engulfed in clouds and grows closer and closer to the deadness of the Winter season. Anyway here is some background on the Autumnal Equinox, going back to the Pagans.

In ancient times, the Autumn Equinox was cause for a variety of pagan festivals, among them the celebration of the birth of Mabon, the son of Mordon, the Goddess of the earth.

It is also a time to celebrate with a variety of Fall and Harvest Festivals. People enjoy fall festivals as they sense the closure of a great summer season and the coming of a long winter. The fall festivals are the last of the outdoor events until spring. Just getting there is half the fun as you drive through hills and forests ablaze in fall color. So, get out and enjoy them.

Speaking of Fall festivals, the Pumpkin Festivals and weighoffs are among the best and biggest. Find more on Pumpkin Festivals.

Intelligent Falling Theory

Evangelical Scientist basically tells Newton and Einstein to shove it. Well not really but this is from the Onion so it is pretty funny. The article is from 2005.

Moon Landing

It was 39 years ago yesterday that America and the world expanded the boundaries of which it had previously traveled, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and man took its first step onto that distant foreign rock so often in our site, but which had before eluded our reach.